With a Smile (TV series)

With a Smile
Genre	Romantic comedy Family Drama
Created by	GMA Entertainment TV Group
Developed by	Don Michael Perez Ma. Acy Ramos
Written by	Cel Santiago Mario Banzon
Directed by	Louie Ignacio
Creative director(s)	Jun Lana
Starring	Christian Bautista Mikael Daez Andrea Torres
Opening theme	"Ngiti" sung by Christian Bautista
Composer(s)	Vince Rod Catindig
Country of origin	Philippines
Original language(s)	Filipino, Tagalog, English
No. of episodes	65 episodes
Production
Executive producer(s)	Arlene Pilapil
Location(s)	Quezon City Pampanga
Cinematography	Jun Fuentes Jerry Dano
Camera setup	Multiple-camera setup
Running time	30-45 minutes
Release
Original network	GMA Network
Picture format	480i NTSC
Original release	June 24 (2013-06-24) – September 20, 2013 (2013-09-20)
External links
Website

With a Smile is a Filipino romantic comedy television series created by Ma. Acy Ramos, developed by Don Michael Perez and produced by GMA Network. It premiered on June 24, 2013 on the network's morning block, 10:15 a.m. timeslot, and on June 26, 2013 worldwide via GMA Pinoy TV. The series headlines Andrea Torres, Christian Bautista and Mikael Daez, playing the three main characters. Arlene Pilapil served as the executive producer for the entire run of the series, and Louie Ignacio directed the show.^[1] The series concluded its thirteen-week run on September 20, 2013, comprising sixty five episodes.

The series revolves around the three main characters: Isay (played by Torres), a barrio lass who has a passion for cooking and will pursue her dreams for her family. In Manila, she crosses paths with Dean (played by Daez), a man who believes that he's a disappointment to his family but will soon realize his worth after meeting the girl who will capture his heart; and Aston (played by Bautista) is an independent, self-made businessman who often fights with Isay but eventually falls in love with her.^[2] Starting March 2, 2015 it will re-air on GMA Life TV worldwide.

Synopsis

Isay's family owns a restaurant known for grilled specialties – Verci's Grill, named after her mother. Verci is very talented and passionate in cooking—traits she passed on to her daughter, Isay. Tom, Isay's father is a cheerful and loving man of the house. Being the eldest, Isay helps her mother in preparing and cooking for their eatery. She is also a very caring sister to her two younger siblings.Things take a drastic turn when Verci gets sick and passes away, and their once successful business starts to decline. Despite this, they still continue to sell grilled street foods in their local market and join cooking contests to get by. When Isay's cooking skills get noticed by one of the chef judges, she then gets offered a ticket to participate in a Barbecue Cook-Off in Manila. Though she initially hesitates in accepting this opportunity, her fervent dream of getting her family out of poverty, pushes her to give it a try.

Through some twists of fate, Isay meets Aston and Dean, and soon finds herself entangled in a complicated love triangle with them.

Cast and characters

The series featured three main characters, with many other characters recurring throughout its run.

Main characters

• Patricia "Isay" Asuncion – portrayed by Andrea Torres, a pretty provincial lass, known for her talent and passion for cooking. Isay's sweet and optimistic nature made it easier for people around her to like her. In pursuit of her dreams to get her family out of poverty, she ends up living and working in Manila, doing odd jobs like washing cars, and being a secretary. While making ends meet, Isay gets to form new friendships, including budding romances with Aston and Dean.^[3][4]
• Aston Martinez – portrayed by Christian Bautista, an independent, self-made businessman who owns and runs a car wash business and apartment units. He is also a car enthusiast and owns a vintage VW Beetle he called "Sam". Aston is a strict, no-nonsense man. When it comes to love, he keeps his guard up, as he was deeply hurt by his past relationship. Initially, Aston and Isay start out fighting like cats and dogs but eventually, they develop feelings for each other.^[5][6]
• Dean Vicencio – portrayed by Mikael Daez, a free-spirited rich guy, who believes that he is nothing but a disappointment to his family. Dean is a simple-minded womanizer and is not the type to take relationships seriously. He meets Isay and gets smitten by her charm and beauty. Dean soon realizes that Isay is slowly changing his perception in life and in love.^[7][8]

Recurring characters

• Mama Lena – portrayed by Marnie Lapuz, one of the tenants in Aston's apartment who also serves as the "mother hen" to her co-tenants, particularly to the young ones.^[9]
• Tomas "Tom" Asuncion – portrayed by Soliman Cruz, the caring and supportive father of Isay. His cheerful image masking his struggles with his role as a single parent and the direction of his life in general.^[10]
• Verci Asuncion – portrayed by Gilleth Sandico, Isay's loving and caring mother. Verci is very talented and passionate in cooking – traits which she passed on to her daughter, Isay.
• Teh - portrayed by Vince de Jesus, a gay tenant in Aston's apartment who is very vocal about his admiration for his landlord. The character provides good advice, sarcasm, and comic relief throughout the series.^[11]
• Mikoy, Kimpoy and Jak – portrayed by Mikoy Morales, Kimpoy Feliciano and Jak Roberto, respectively, the dynamic trio who pitted against each other for the love and attention of one girl – Sahsah.^[12]
• Sahsah – portrayed by Shelly Hipolito, the hip and trendy tenant of Aston, and the apple of the eyes of Mikoy, Kimpoy and Jack.^[13]
• Athan – portrayed by Bryan Benedict, the trusted assistant and sidekick of Aston. He is also the leader of the "car wash boys".^[14]
• Onyx - portrayed by RJ Padilla, Dean's sidekick
• Budot – portrayed by Miggs Cuaderno, Aston's mischievous nephew.^[15]
• Patricia - portrayed by Max Collins, Dean's childhood friend who has a crush on him.
• Maricar - portrayed by Sam Pinto, Aston's ex-girlfriend who breaks up with him for the sake of her modeling career. A go-getter and aggressive girl, nothing will stop Maricar from getting what she wants.

Production and development

The idea for the series first came from screenwriter Ma. Acy Ramos, who initially had the idea to create a light drama/romantic comedy series for GMA Network's Afternoon Prime block, which usually dominated by traditional "tearjerker" telenovelas. When she presented and discussed the idea to the management (GMA Entertainment TV Group), they immediately approved the project but decide to put it on morning time slot, instead, since they thought "it would fit best there." Director and screenwriter, Don Michael Perez began writing a script for a show now titled With a Smile, which somewhat patterned from the Korean television series Lovers in Paris but with a different angle—two men are fighting over a girl.^[16]

The network assigned Louie Ignacio to direct the series. The director described the show as "a mix of light drama, humor, charm and romance". Ignacio also regarded his main actors as part of the reasons he green-lighted directing the series.^[17] The casts were all announced during the series' story conference, with the main cast being Andrea Torres, Christian Bautista and Mikael Daez. The three actors were cast based on their auditions. Torres was chosen to play Isay Asuncion from more than 10 women who auditioned for the role. Torres shares certain similarities with her onscreen persona Isay, as they are both close to their families and determined to realize their dreams.^[18] Bautista, who played Aston Martinez, originally auditioned for the role of Dean Vicencio. Daez originally auditioned for Aston, but ended up portraying Dean Vicencio.^[19] Supporting casts include stage and TV actors Soliman Cruz, Gilleth Sandico and Marnie Lapuz; composer and comedian Vince de Jesus; and Protégé: The Battle For The Big Artista Break alumni Mikoy Morales, Shelly Hipolito and Bryan Benedict.

The production began in May 2013. Most of the scenes were shot on location in Quezon City. Some portions were shot in the town of Pampanga. The series' premiere was planned for June 17, but because programming-related problem, delayed until June 24.^[20][21]

Reception

The series garnered righ ratings during its pilot episode. According to the data gathered by the more widely recognized TV ratings supplier, Nielsen TV Audience Measurement, the series marked a household rating of 8.4% and ruled over its counterpart program from ABS-CBN which garnered 6.7%, based on the Mega Manila overnight ratings. The pilot episode also became one of the top trending topics in the Philippines in the micro-blogging site Twitter.^[22]

See also

• List of programs broadcast by GMA Network
• List of telenovelas of GMA Network
• Adik Sa'Yo
• Ako si Kim Samsoon

External links

• GMA Network official website
• GMA Network Official Facebook Page

References